The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week signed an agreement with the Republic of Kenya, however, the security and bilateral provisions in the accord ultimately add panache to the accords geopolitical significance. Notably, Kenya is emerging as a net importer of Counter Terrorism solutions and an attractive bilateral partner.
This accord’s geopolitical importance lies in the fact that it represents Kenya’s rising military capabilities (the country opened an assorted arms factory Mid-April 2021) and ambition to be a great economic power regardless of the ramifications thereof. This agreement demonstrates that Kenya’s quest for independent great power status is back.
The past 6 years have been geostrategically uneventful for Kenya, in fact, it was a period of estrangement. The foray in DR Congo highlights Nairobi’s achievement of strategic autonomy where it is strong enough to pick its own partners without undue fear of the consequences from traditional partners. This comes at a time when the East African region is significantly plagued by economic and security challenges, an indicator, Nairobi’s security intelligence services are correctly predicting the political and economic trajectory of the region.
Consequently, the region will accept this outcome and most likely begin recalibrating their approaches towards Nairobi, marking an end to the estrangement. The bold move also reflects that Kenya has become, for every key international actor, a most desirable strategic partner if not ally.
And by virtue of its capabilities and geostrategic setting, Kenya, henceforth will become a desirable partner that is sought after by both the great powers, neighbors, and global middle powers. Kenya has opted to be bold and expeditious, a significantly critical geopolitical event which ups its deterrence capabilities and that, makes it very attractive to other governments seeking partnerships besides investors seeking safe and profitable markets to invest in.
